Day 31 - Open thy mouth

"Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy." Proverb 31:9

Proverbs 31 is famously known as the "virtuous woman proverb" but a different verse/thought struck me today while reading the chapter.

Verse 9 stuck out to me today, in particular, the phrase 'open thy mouth'.

I need to open my mouth for Him more. It's one thing to sit behind the keyboard and update good Facebook statuses or tweets but when given the opportunity, face to face, to open my mouth and witness to someone or share with them what God has been doing in my life, I often remain silent.

I need to open my mouth and share the gospel. I need to open my mouth and share the great thins He has done for me. I need to open my mouth and give Him the praises He is due.

Open thy mouth.

Day 30

"Every word of God is pure; he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him." Proverb 30:5

Yesterday we talked about how every idle word we speak, we will have to give an account of, so today, verse 5 jumped out as me as soon as I read it.

I've had this thought rolling around my mind for the past day or so. Ever since I read Proverbs 28:26 "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered."

I've been thinking of that verse, how I can't even trust myself, I can't trust my own heart because it's deceitful but then I read verse 5 today and am so thankful that I can trust God and His Word! There are many unreliable things in life but God, He is reliable.

You can't put a price on that!

Day 29 - Say what?

"Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him." Proverb 29:20

Today's reminder from Proverbs is to watch what we say.

"A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards." Proverb 29:11

"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
Matthew 12: 36-37

I heard once that the average person says around 7,000 words per day. That's a lot of words. According to Matthew 12, we will be accountable to God for each and every one.

Wow. That's sobering.

Day 28

"He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered." Proverb 28:26

You can't base everything off of your feelings. Feelings change. Your heart can change. It's not wise to trust in your heart.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9

I know we have discussed the heart earlier this month, but I found this verse interesting today when I read it. I'm thankful for verses like this. They remind me that on days when I don't feel close to God, when I don't feel like a Christian, when I don't feel like I am living an abundant life, I can turn to His Word. It is consistent. He is consistent.

I appreciate that. I need that. I need Him to be consistent because I can be all over the board some days and He is there...my steady Rock.

"He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered." Proverb 28:26

I can't always trust and depend on my heart, but I can ALWAYS trust and depend on God!

Day 27

"Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Proverb 27:1

Proverbs 27.

I love this Proverb. There are so many great verses.

"Let another man praise thee and not thine own mouth: a stranger and not thine own lips." verse 2

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend: but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." verse 6

"Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel." verse 9

"He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him." verse 14
"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." verse 17

"As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man." verse 19

"Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied." verse 20

But the verse that always gets me is verse one: "Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."

Each morning when we wake, God has provided us with a blank canvas. We can spend our day however we chose. We can serve Him as much or as little as we want. We can read His Word as much or as little as we want. We can spend as much time with Him in prayer as we want. We can tell everyone we see in a day about what He has done for us, and what He has done for them. We can give Him our all.

Or....

We can get up and go about our own business. We can make our own decisions. We can keep quiet about what He has done for us and keep it "just between me and God" because "it's personal. We can hoard our time and waste our time and we can ignore His calling.

We can choose each day whom we want to serve: self or God?

"But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15b

There is no guarantee of tomorrow. That person you saw at the gas station, you know, the one that God told you to give a tract to but you didn't feel like it, you didn't want to seem awkward or interrupt them...you may never get a chance to see them or hand them a tract ever again. God made your paths cross for a reason. He gave you an opportunity to serve Him. You may never get that opportunity again.

This verse is pounded down deep in me. I think of it almost everyday. Which is a good thing, because I need the daily reminder that it is a new day, full of opportunity...I just need to be willing to follow Him and not set my own path.

Day 26

"He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears."
Proverb 26:17

Social networking is the playground for gossipers. But that is still no excuse for Christians to be meddling in things that don't pertain to them. God doesn't like gossiping and this verse is a great reminder that if you meddle in the business of others, you are asking for it.

Day 25

"Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer."

This is a great attitude to have. The attitude and desire to have God take away our faults and sins (dross) and improve us that we may be a cleaner vessel for Him to use.

It isn't always easy to go through those stages of having the dross cleared away from our lives but it is necessary.

"But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, 'Be ye holy; for I am holy." - 1 Peter 1:16